Method and system to pre-fetch data in a network

• US 7,884,827 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PayPal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Orcutt, Bill, Subramanian, Mahesh
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHU K
• Application Number:
  US12/635,626
• Publication Number:
  US 20100095226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• Field of Search: 345/530, 709/206
• US Class Current: 345/530
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/172 Caching, prefetching or hoarding of files
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/401 wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics

Abstract

A system and method of pre-fetching data in a network includes displaying first data to a user, the first data being upstream of other data in a data flow. Before receiving a request from the user to view a second data, retrieving the second data and storing the retrieved second data in a memory device. After a request to display the second data is received from the user, using the stored second data for displaying to the user.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method comprising:

pre-fetching, by a user device, web pages according to a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

processing, by the user device, a first web page that is upstream of other web pages in the page flow;

retrieving, by a server, a second web page based on the page flow and in response to the processing of the first web page by the user device, the second web page being downstream of the first web page in the page flow; and

transmitting, by the server, the second web page to the user device, the second web page to be stored in the user device.

2. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising processing the second web page after receiving a request from the user device.

3. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining which of the plurality of web pages are most frequently viewed and retrieving the second page from the most frequently viewed web pages.

4. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second web page is stored in a local memory device of the user device which is used to view the web pages.

5. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, retrieving further data to be used in conjunction with the second web page for display to a user.

6. A processor-implemented method comprising:

determining a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

receiving a request from a user device to display a first web page, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in the page flow; and

transmitting the first web page and a second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow to the user device, the second web page to be transmitted before receiving a request for the second web page and to be stored in the user device.

7. The processor-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining which of the plurality of web pages are most frequently viewed and retrieving the second web page from most frequently viewed web pages.

8. The processor-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising, after a request is received from a user to view the second web page, transmitting further data to be used in conjunction with the second web page for displaying to the user.

9. A processor-implemented method comprising:

displaying a first web page to a user, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in a page flow determined based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

receiving a second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow from a server before receiving a request from the user to view the second web page;

storing the second web page in a memory device; and

displaying, in response to the request from the user, the second web page, using the page flow.

10. The processor-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising receiving the request from the user to view the second web page.

11. The processor-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising receiving and storing the second web page retrieved from most frequently viewed web pages.

12. A system comprising:

a display module configured to display a first web page, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in a page flow determined based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

a communication module configured to receive a second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow from a server before receiving a request from a user to view the second web page;

a memory device configured to store the second web page in the memory device; and

the display module configured to display, in response to a request from the user, the second web page, using the page flow.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication module is configured to receive the request from the user to view the other web pages.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory device is a local memory device which is used to view the first web page.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication module is configured to receive further data which is used in conjunction with the second web page for displaying to the user.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the communication module is configured to receive from the server the second web page retrieved from most frequently viewed web pages.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the memory device is configured to store the second web page received from the server.

18. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

pre-fetch web pages according to a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages; and

process first web page that is upstream of other web pages in the page flow;

a receiving module to receive a request from a user device to display the first web page to a user; and

a transmitting module configured to

transmit the first web page to the user device to be viewed by the user; and

transmit a second web page to the user device to be stored in the user device, before a request is received from the user to view the second web page, the second web page being downstream of the first web page in the page flow.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second web page is to be stored in a local memory device of the user device which the user uses to view web.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the transmitting module is to determine which of the plurality of web pages are most frequently viewed and retrieving the second web page from the most frequently viewed web pages.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the transmitting module is configured to retrieve further data to be used in conjunction with the second web page for displaying to the user.

22. A system comprising:

display means to display a first web page to a user, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in a page flow determined based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

communication means to receive a second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow before receiving a request from the user to view the second web page;

storage means to store the received the second web page in a memory device; and

the display means to display, in response to a request from the user, the second web page, using the page flow.

23. A system comprising:

processing means to

pre-fetch web pages according to a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages; and

process a first web page that is upstream of other web pages in the page flow;

receiving means to receive a request from a user device to display the first web page to the user, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in the page flow; and

transmitting means to

transmit the first web page to the user device to be viewed by the user; and

transmit a second web page to a user device, the second web page to be stored in the user device, the second web page being downstream of the first web page in the page flow.

24. A non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

pre-fetching web pages according to a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

processing a first web page that is upstream of other web pages in the page flow; and

transmitting to a user device a second web page retrieved based on the page flow, the second web page to be stored in the user device.

25. A non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

determining a page flow based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

receiving a request from a user device to display a first web page, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in the page flow; and

transmitting the first web page and a second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow to the user device, the second web page to be transmitted before receiving a request for the second web page and to be stored in the user device.

26. A non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method comprising:

displaying a first web page to a user, the first web page being upstream of other web pages in a page flow determined based on an observation of a user navigation of a plurality of web pages;

receiving second web page that is downstream of the first web page in the page flow from a server before receiving a request from the user to view the second web page;

storing the second web page in a memory device; and

displaying, in response to the request from the user, the second web page, using the page flow.